&EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pacific Southwest/Region 9
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From the Regional Administrator
Dear Readers,
The world around us is changing. EPA is taking the lead in helping communities develop
resiliency by turning challenges into opportunities for innovation and creativity. From renewable
power to green infrastructure, EPA is deploying our funding and technical expertise to every corner
of the Pacific Southwest.
We are privileged to work with 148 tribes in Arizona, California and Nevada. These sovereign
nations are models of resiliency and adaptation. In this time of severe drought we can learn from
tribes like the Hopi, who for thousands of years have been dry farming corn without the aid of
irrigation. We are also working hard to bring justice to tribes like the Navajo, whose reservation
contains hundreds of abandoned uranium mines. This year we secured more than $1 billion from a
polluter to clean up 50 of these toxic sites.
I've visited 115 tribal communities in our region to meet with tribal elected representatives and
see firsthand the amazing work tribes are doing to protect their environment. You'll find some
success stories on the pages that follow, from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe's creation of wetlands
to protect water quality in the Truckee River, to the Gila River Indian Community's new,
protective waste ordinance.
We bring the same focus and energy to challenges throughout the Pacific Southwest reducing
air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley, helping water utilities provide safe drinking water while
adapting to drought and climate change, responding to toxic emergencies, cleaning up contaminated
sites, and supporting zero-waste initiatives and green infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
If you look around at the environmental progress in the Pacific Southwest, I'm sure you'll agree
together, we're making a visible difference in our communities.
Jared Blumenfeld
Regional Administrator
EPA Pacific Southwest Region
Cover: Lands of the Havasupai Tribe in northern Arizona
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A Healthier
San Francisco
Bay
^
Table of Contents
Clean Air.
Clean Water.
Clean Land 11
Climate & Communities 17 »
Enforcement & Stewardship 21
EPA Funding in the Pacific Southwest 24
Building Tribal Infrastructure Centerfold
Contact Information Inside Back Cover
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CL EAN AIR
A Clearer Future for San Joaquin
California's San Joaquin Valley is taking steps to create a healthier
environment while modernizing its infrastructure. High-speed rail
promises to benefit both public health and the valley's economy.
Fighting Air Pollution in the Valley
On January 6, 2015, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy met
with Governor Jerry Brown, Mayor Ashley Swearengin, and
other government and transportation leaders in Fresno, Calif.,
(photo on page 4) to mark the start of sustained construction
on what is anticipated to be the nations first truly high-speed
rail system.
In 2029, the zero-emission electric train is expected to run
from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours the
fastest, most environmentally-friendly way to travel between the
state's biggest urban areas and within the San Joaquin Valley.
Construction on the rail line will use the cleanest EPA-certified
equipment, create jobs and stimulate the valley's economy.
The San Joaquin Valley has some of the nation's toughest
air quality challenges. It's a major transportation corridor for
heavy-duty trucks, which emit diesel particulate and black
carbon pollution.
EPA continues to work with the California Air Resources
Board and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control
District to help reduce pollution from a full range of pollution
sources that contribute to the valley's unhealthy air and high rates
of childhood asthma.
Left: Artist's rendering of a potential high-speed rail station
(courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority)
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Spotligh
reduction in NOx emissions
from Navajo Generating
Station
Cleaning Up Diesel Engines
For the past 10 years, EPA has partnered with
dozens of federal, state and local public and
private partners in the West Coast Collaborative
(WCC) to reduce diesel emissions, including
black carbon and greenhouse gases, with
innovative and proven technologies.
Through the WCC, EPA has provided and
leveraged approximately $20 million in funding
under the Diesel Emissions Reductions Act (DERA)
and other public and private sources to retrofit and
replace more than 500 old diesel engines throughout
the San Joaquin Valley with clean diesel, natural gas,
and electric engines for trucks, buses, agriculture
equipment and locomotives.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has helped
replace more than 2,000 high-emitting tractors in
the valley, including over 130 engines in 2014 alone.
Since 2008, EPA has collaborated with the
California Air Resources Board and the San Joaquin
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, California Governor
Jerry Brown and other officials celebrate the start of
construction on the high-speed rail project.
Valley and South Coast air districts on the Clean
Air Technology Initiative (CATI), which seeks to
accelerate the demonstration and deployment of
zero- and near-zero-emission technologies.
In 2014, EPA awarded $500,000 in CATI
grants to support San Joaquin's Technology
Advancement Program and $500,000 to the
South Coast to develop Trans Power battery-electric
yard trucks for demonstration at distribution
centers and rail yards, and to demonstrate
in-cabin air filtration systems on school buses.
www.hsr.ca.gov
www.westcoastcollaborative.org
www.epa.gov/region9/cleantech
Understanding Roadside Air Quality
Proximity to roadways can be linked to health
problems, including childhood asthma and
increased risks of lung and heart disease.
Monitors Help Assess Risk
Air pollutants from cars, trucks and other motor
vehicles tend to be at their highest levels within
500-600 feet of a heavily-traveled roadway.
Particulate emissions from diesel trucks can be
especially harmful. To better understand the
health risks, EPA now mandates air monitoring
for near-road air pollution in metropolitan areas.
New monitoring sites in five Pacific South-
west cities Oakland, San Jose, Anaheim, and
Ontario in California and Tempe in Arizona
were operational by the end of 2014.
Eight more cities Long Beach, Sacramento,
Berkeley, Fresno, Bakersfield, and San Diego in
California, Las Vegas in Nevada, and Phoenix in
Arizona are being added in 2015.
With more than 45 million people in the U.S.
living, working, or attending school within 300
DEBORAH JORDAN
-
i In December 2014, President
Obama presented EPA regional
Air Division Director Deborah
Jordan with the Presidential
Rank Award, a rare honor
given only to the federal gov-
| ernment's most outstanding
senior executives.
For more than a decade,
Jordan has led the Region's ongoing efforts for clean
air. Her accomplishments include finalizing the
regional haze plan to improve visibility at the Grand
Canyon and launching the West Coast Collabora-
tive, a partnership that has spurred 500 projects to
reduce diesel emissions.
During her tenure, EPA has taken more than 500
rule-making actions on California's air quality plans
and rules, reducing smog by 20% in the South Coast
area and San Joaquin Valley.
feet of a major road, airport or railroad, there is
growing concern about the health impacts of
roadway traffic. To build awareness of health risks
and ways to reduce exposure, EPA developed
outreach materials and tools geared for schools
and land-use planners. In 2015, EPA will help
schools in the Pacific Southwest identify
best-practice strategies to reduce exposures.
EPA is also working with state and local partner
agencies, as well as community advocates, as they
develop methodologies and guidelines for
assessing and mitigating near-roadway impacts
in the development of regional and local'land
use, transportation and freight transport plans.
At the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in San
Ysidro, Calif, EPA provided funding to the San
Diego County Air Pollution Control District to
purchase, install and operate an air pollution
monitor to measure levels of fine particulate
pollution (see story on page 18).
www.epa.gov/otaq/nearroadway.htm
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Focus on Arizona
Air quality issues in Arizona range from the haze
obscuring national parks to the impact of underground
contamination in residential areas.
Large Industrial Facilities Cut Emissions
Arizona's national parks and wilderness areas have
been in countless Hollywood Westerns showing
iconic vistas of desert rock formations and clear
skies stretching to far-off horizons. In recent
decades, however, visitors and residents have often
found hazy skies, due in part to unhealthful
emissions from industrial facilities in Arizona.
In 2014, EPA finalized new pollution control
requirements at these facilities, which will
improve visibility at 21 national parks and
wilderness areas. One of the sources, Navajo
Generating Station (NGS), a 2,250-megawatt
coal-burning power plant on the Navajo Nation,
is just 20 miles from the eastern boundaries
of Grand Canyon National Park. Under EPAs
final plan, NGS, currently one of the nation's
largest sources of smog-forming nitrogen oxide
(NOx) emissions, will reduce its NOx pollution
by over 80%.
The proposed requirements on NGS sparked
widespread public interest and involvement.
Before finalizing the action, EPA held five
public hearings and more than 50 consultation
meetings with Indian tribes, and considered
77,000 comments from the public.
In addition to NGS, EPAs actions will also
reduce NOx and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions
from Tucson Electric Power's Sundt Plant, Chemical
Lime Nelson in Peach Springs, ASARCO's Hayden
Smelter, Freeport McMoRan's Miami Smelter,
Phoenix Cement Company's Clarkdale plant and
CalPortland Cement's Rillito plant.
Navajo Generating Station, a 2,250-megawatt coal-burning electric power plant 20 miles from Grand Canyon
National Park, will reduce its NOx and SC>2 emissions. Photo: Ted Grussing
All told, these actions will reduce both SO2
and NOx emissions by a total of 31,000 tons per
year, protecting public health, clearing skies, and
helping the region transition to cleaner power.
Investigating Vapor Intrusion in Phoenix
At the Motorola 52nd Street Superfund site in
Phoenix, treatment of contaminated groundwater
has been underway since 1992.
Since 2011, EPA has also investigated a possible
health issue: vapor from groundwater contami-
nated with toxic trichloroethylene (TCE) rising
through the soil into residential and commercial
buildings in some areas of the site. So far, EPA has
installed mitigation systems in 15 homes near the
site to remove TCE from the indoor air.
In 2014, EPA brought in a mobile laboratory to
do real-time testing and analysis of indoor air and
soil gas. Forty-nine temporary soil vapor wells
were installed and sampled, identifying areas
where vapor intrusion could be occurring and
where further monitoring or mitigation might be
needed. As a result, eight homes and two
commercial buildings were sampled.
Investigators gathered data on short-term
exposures, determined the effectiveness of
mitigation systems in some of the homes, and
gained better understanding of where further
monitoring is warranted. This is vital because of
the short-term health effects of TCE in fetal heart
development in the early stages of pregnancy.
Continuing monitoring and investigation of
indoor vapor intrusion will help inform decisions
about where additional indoor air mitigation
systems may be needed throughout the Motorola
52nd St. site.
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Lake Oroville in March 2015
Photo: Paul Names/California Department of Water Resources
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CL EAN WAI
Living with Drought
EPA is supporting state, tribal and local government actions to
respond to the persistent drought in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Marshaling Resources to Conserve and Adapt
Water has always been precious in the arid Southwest and the
severe drought that has plagued the region continues to magnify
its value.
EPA's response to the drought is targeted at making the
region more resilient to current water supply shortfalls, as well as
long-term water shortages expected due to a changing climate.
The drought response strategy employs regulatory and non-regula-
tory activities in addition to strategic use of financial support.
Priorities include promoting the expansion of water supply
sources via recycled water and captured stormwater. EPA also
encourages the use of WaterSense products, which are certified to be
at least 20% more efficient without sacrificing performance and have
resulted in national savings of over 750 billion gallons of water.
In addition, given that in California over 200 billion gallons
per year are lost via leaks in drinking water distribution systems,
EPA is promoting expanded use of water loss control audits to
identify the magnitude of leaks and other sources of water loss,
and help develop strategies to minimize these losses.
Water Utilities Adopt New Tools
In September 2014, EPA conducted a workshop in Fresno for
local water utilities, including tribal utilities. Participants
discussed potential impacts associated with climate variability
including drought and identified short- and long-term
planning actions and funding resources to build resilience to
the impacts of climate change.
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Spotlight
Superfund sites in the region
are cleaning up groundwater for
beneficial uses
The workshop included an overview by EPA
of auditing to assess and control drinking water
distribution system losses, as well as activities led
by EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities program,
which has been engaged with utilities across the
Pacific Southwest to help develop strategies for
adapting to water supply shortfalls.
In addition, the Tuolumne Utilities District
shared lessons learned from their successful 2014
drought response. In late 2013, TUD, located in
Sonora, Calif, recognized that their water
sources could reach unprecedented low volumes
in 2014. TUD adopted a goal of reducing water
use by 50%, and prohibited outdoor landscape
watering as a key measure.
Public outreach and coordination with a
variety of stakeholders were key to TUD's
drought response, along with distribution of
water-efficient fixtures and rebates for purchase
of low-flow toilets. The district also recycles
100% of its treated wastewater for agricultural
irrigation. By June 2014, the Tuolumne district
had met its goal and become a model to be
included by EPA in a national Drought Response
and Resilience Guide.
Other utilities have realized water savings in
more traditional ways. Fresno, Calif, has seen a
20% decrease in water use per capita since
installing 110,000 water meters using $51 million
in interest-free EPA State Revolving Fund loans.
Most urban areas in the Pacific Southwest have
long benefited from the use of meters and pricing
structures that encourage efficient use.
Safe Drinking Water Act at 40
The landmark law passed in 1974 has brought
clean, safe drinking water to the vast majority
of Americans.
EPA Funding Supports Local Water Systems
Over the past four decades, the Safe Drinking
Water Act has enabled EPA and state and local
partners to supply safe drinking water to 50,000
community water systems across the nation. More
than 290 million people depend on these systems.
In 2014, 94% of the population served
by community water systems in the Pacific
Southwest received drinking water that met all
health-based standards.
Under the Act, EPA established drinking
water regulations for more than 90 contami-
nants, including microorganisms, disinfectants,
disinfection byproducts, chemicals and
radionuclides. Since EPA created the Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) in 1997,
more than $25.8 billion has been provided to
more than 10,000 drinking water infrastructure
projects nationwide, helping local water systems
meet these national standards.
Funding of Drinking Water Projects
Under the State Revolving Fund Since 1997
Total Assistance Amount to Disadvantaged
Provided Communities
California
$2 billion
$1 billion
Arizona
Hawaii
Nevada
$764 million
$228 million
$189 million
$39 million
$32 million
$23 million
Source: Drinking Water National Information
Management System
WENDELL SMITH
Throughout his 43-year EPA
career, environmental scientist
» I Wendell Smith has made
I J enduring contributions to
protecting public health and
the environment for Indian tribes and communities
in the Pacific Southwest.
Smith's ability to cultivate long-term partnerships
based upon trust, integrity and cultural sensitiv
ity - and to influence national policy to secure more
tribal resources - has been key to helping tribal
governments establish programs to protect their
water resources. He is personally responsible for
expanding Clean Water Act program coverage in the
Pacific Southwest from one tribe in 1990 to more
than 100 tribes in 2014.
Smith has mentored dozens of EPAs tribal grant
project officers and has served since 1998 as a
founding member on the regional Labor-Management
Partnership Council.
In one example, EPA provided a $1 million
Drinking Water SRF loan for the Verdi
Business Park water system, which was using
well water exceeding the maximum allowable
contaminant level for arsenic. VBP consoli-
dated with the nearby Truckee Meadows Water
Authority, which provides drinking water for
385,000 people in the Reno, Nev. area. The
loan paid for construction of an interconnec-
tion, allowing VBP to shut down its wells.
To help meet the needs of Indian tribes, EPA
created the Drinking Water Tribal Set-Aside
program, which provides funding for drinking
water system infrastructure. Funds are awarded
through direct grants to tribes or interagency
agreements with the Indian Health Service. The
funding, amounting to about $6 million in the
Pacific Southwest in 2014, is used to address the
most significant public health threats from
inadequate drinking water infrastructure.
www.epa.gov/safedrinkingwater40
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Focus on California
Protecting surface waters and wetlands across
California is key to maintaining healthy ecosystems
and diverse habitats in the Golden State.
A Healthier San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay, once plagued by chronic
water pollution from 30 cities surrounding it, is
continuing its progress toward ecological health,
thanks in part to an array of restoration projects
and enforcement actions in the bay's watersheds.
Since 2008, EPA has issued grants totaling
more than $36 million for 29 projects to restore
wetlands and water quality along the bay's
shoreline and tributaries. EPA funding was
matched and leveraged by state and local
partners for a grand total of $145 million.
Some of the projects involve wetlands in the
South Bay, in partnership with the California
Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, and other state and federal agencies,
which are managing the largest tidal wetlands
restoration effort on the West Coast.
There, the focus is on restoring former salt
evaporation ponds to tidal flats, wetlands,
transition zones and open water to support an
ecosystem for the endangered salt marsh harvest
mouse, Ridgway's rail (formerly known as
California clapper rail) and other birds and
mammals, while providing flood protection for
nearby communities.
Seven projects in the North Bay are
preventing further riverbank erosion, which
contributes excess sediment to the Napa River.
Five more in the South Bay are reducing
mercury, polluted runoff and trash in two of San
Jose's major watersheds, the Guadalupe River
and Coyote Creek.
Sandpipers and dowitchers take flight at former salt ponds
Meanwhile, settlement of an EPA enforcement
action with the East Bay Municipal Utility District
(EBMUD) and seven East Bay communities
commits $1.5 billion over the next 21 years to assess
and upgrade 1,500 miles of sewers, eliminating
millions of gallons of sewage discharges into the bay.
At the Port of Redwood City in the South Bay,
an enforcement action against scrap metal recycler
Sims Metal Management led to a $189,500 fine
and measures to investigate and clean up toxic
metals from Sims' operation. (See page 22 for
additional regional enforcement highlights.)
Protecting Vernal Pools
California's climate and geology make it an
excellent host to vernal pools now-rare seasonal
depressional wetlands that fill with rain for variable
periods from winter to spring, but are completely
dry for most of summer and fall.
These unique wetlands of California 90% of
which have been destroyed are key to the survival
of rare and endangered plants and animals.
in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
In the Central Valley, EPA took two
separate enforcement actions against individuals
who destroyed more than 100 combined acres
of vernal pool wetlands. One ranch owner in
Tehama County who destroyed 80 acres of
vernal pools was required to pay a $300,000
fine and provide $795,000 in mitigation to
preserve vernal pool habitat in the Sacramento
River basin.
In the second case, a food and nut distributor
near Merced in the San Joaquin Valley destroyed
33 acres of vernal pools, and as a result has agreed
to pay a $160,000 fine and purchase a 94-acre
conservation easement, valued at approximately
$1 million, to preserve high-quality vernal pool
habitat. Together, these actions will preserve more
than 500 acres of vernal pool habitat.
EPA also presented awards to Dr. Bob
Holland and Carol Witham to recognize their
decades of work in leading California's vernal
pool science and protection efforts.
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CLEAN LAND
Emergency Response and Cleanup
The Superfund Emergency Response Program investigates and
cleans up dozens of incidents each year in the Pacific Southwest.
EPA Removes Toxics Threatening Humboldt Bay
The abandoned Samoa Pulp Mill on Humboldt Bay near Eureka,
Calif, (photo at left), was a disaster waiting to happen.
When the mill shut down in 2008, it left three million
gallons of extremely caustic liquids, 10,000 tons of corrosive
sludge, 12,000 gallons of acids, and 3,000 gallons of
turpentine, all precariously stored in 20 deteriorating tanks.
The caustic liquids had an extremely high pH of 13 to 14
strong enough to dissolve wood or flesh. In 2013, the
Humboldt Bay Harbor District requested assistance from
EPA, which started site stabilization work in September.
Then, on March 9, 2014, a major earthquake measuring
6.8 on the Richter scale shook Humboldt Bay. Because
another quake could rupture the tanks, EPA on-scene
coordinators sped up plans to remove the toxic liquids.
On March 28, a long stream of tanker trucks began taking the
"black liquor" to a mill in Longview, Wash., where it was reused in
processing wood pulp to make paper. This $4.5 million removal,
the first phase of the estimated $12 million effort, involved five
members of the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Strike Team, several
contractors, and 15 truckers.
The sludges were solidified and trucked to a permitted
hazardous waste landfill; the acids were taken to a hazardous waste
disposal facility permitted to handle them. On September 10,
2014, the final truckload left the site on Humboldt Bay.
The district plans to reuse the 70-acre site for aquaculture
perhaps growing oysters, or sturgeon to produce caviar.
Story continues, p. 14
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Clean Land
Programs*
$3.47 million
General
Assistance
Program
$16.42 million
BUILDING TRIBAL INFRASTRUCTURE
EPA provided $51.5 million in fiscal 2014 to improve
environmental protection and public health on tribal lands
in the Pacific Southwest. In addition, EPA supports the
region's 148 tribes with technical assistance, training and
the enforcement of federal environmental laws.
Clean Air
Programs
$2.96 million
Clean Water
Programs
$28.67 million
*Brownfields, underground tanks, pesticides
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Lake Paiute Tribe constructed about 2.5 acres
etlands to reduce nutrient pollution in the
in northern Nevada. TheTruckee River
jh the Sierra Nevada mountains in California
lefore emptying into Pyramid Lake, which is
bal land and roughly the size of Lake Tahoe.
Jrains are an underground pipe system under
aids that move excess irrigation water back to
;iver. This project built a wetlands complex to
ff from the drains, keeping pollutants from
s and sediment out of the river.
ect was funded through a competitive gr
er the Clean Water Act.
ern Mono Indians - a
community of about 50 homes and 151 residents in the
western Sierra foothills - wanted a building code for new
homes that would increase energy efficiency, reduce health
problems from poor indoor air quality, conserve drinking water,
reduce wastewater, reduce construction waste, and lower
maintenance costs.
Big Sandy joined the EPA Tribal Green Building Codes
Workgroup, which provided access to a range of building codes,
information about moisture and mold, alternatives to spray foam
insulation, and more. The Tribal Council favored the Pinoleville
Band of Porno Indians' draft Green Building Code and adapted it
for their own use in September 2014.
Gila River
Community adopted a new solid
their 584-square-mile community,
just south of Phoenix, Arizona. The ordinance creates
enforceable environmental standards for the storage,
collection, transportation and disposal of all solid waste,
including hazardous waste generated by businesses and
industries on tribal land.
Gila River has been making substantial progress
toward sustainability on tribal lands. As development
pressures in the area increase, the tribe has pursued
alternative energy projects, explored sustainable housin
best practices, and considered transportation impacts o
community members. Development of its Waste
Ordinance was funded in part by an EPA grant.
^^^^^
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Spotlight
$1 billion
to clean up dozens of abandoned
uranium mines on the Navajo Nation
Response Follows Explosion at Treatment Plant
At 3:30 a.m. on November 18, 2014, avacuum
truck exploded at the Santa Clara Waste Water
Treatment facility in Santa Paula, Calif., releasing
the unknown contents of the tanker across the site.
Upon drying, the released chemical mixture
formed fine crystals that ignited on contact in a
flash of fire and small explosions. The ensuing
fire caused the release of the facility's inventory
of industrial chemicals, including strong
oxidizers, acids and polymers.
In the initial response, Ventura County's
Office of Emergency Services issued an evacua-
tion order to the community within a one-mile
Responders address the aftermath of a chemical explosion in
Santa Paula, Calif.
radius. The first responders were forced to
abandon two fire trucks that were contaminated
onsite. The site was also left with a large ponded
area containing a mixture of water and hazardous
chemicals, surrounded by a surface coating of the
unknown shock-sensitive crystals.
EPA partnered with the Ventura County
Environmental Health Division and the facility
to implement a safe and effective cleanup. The
crystals were neutralized, surfaces pressure
washed, and the ponded chemical mixture
solidified and trucked to the Chiquita Canyon
Landfill. The cleanup was completed on
January 9, 2015.
Investment Builds Communities
EPA Brownfields grants support community and
economic revitalization where reinvestment and
jobs are needed most.
Cities Benefit from Cleanups
Los Angeles, the San Francisco
Bay Area, Honolulu, Nevada's
Lyon and Churchill Counties,
and Mesa, Ariz., were among
171 urban and rural commu-
nities across the U.S. to
receive EPA Brownfields
funding in 2014.
Gaining more than $2.5
million between them, these
six communities will clean up
and redevelop contaminated
properties into affordable
housing, transit-oriented
development, commercial
redevelopment, and community
open space.
^1 WARREN ROAN
II^MNHI Warren Roan is a creden
tialed underground storage
tank (LIST) inspector with
the Navajo Nation's Environ
mental Protection Agency
(NNEPA). He inspects LIST facilities, such as gas
stations, and documents violations of federal
LIST regulations.
At each inspection, he explains his findings
to the owners and operators. He can issue field
citations requiring compliance and payment of
fines. He also follows up to make sure owners and
operators comply, and updates NNEPA and EPA.
Roan coordinates with EPA on targeting
inspections and scheduling. His work has helped
achieve higher LIST compliance rates and prevent
contamination on the Navajo Nation.
In Southern California, local community
organizations collaborated to create the Larry
Itliong Village, which provides 45 units of
affordable, multi-family housing close to
public transportation. The project utilized a
$200,000 EPA Brownfields cleanup grant and
an $88,000 Brownfields revolving loan fund
subgrant from the California Department of
Toxic Substances Control.
In the Bay Area, the City of San Pablo is
using $600,000 in Brownfields funding to clean
up a former Burlington Northern and Santa Fe
rail yard. The property will be developed into a
youth soccer facility in a disadvantaged
community in need of open space. The project is
the result of significant community investment
and input and is the cornerstone of planned
corridor improvements linking regional transit to
a local community college.
In the Central Valley, EPA in 2014 removed
three underground fuel storage tanks and tested
soil for contamination at a former gas station in
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Fresno. An additional 37 sites in Fresno County
are part of a statewide tank cleanup to help
prepare sites for redevelopment.
In Mesa, Ariz., construction of a 3.1-mile
extension of the existing regional light rail
system along Main Street is underway with the
assistance of an EPA Brownfields assessment
grant. About 40% of the parcels along the
proposed route had historical automotive and
industrial operations, resulting in sites
contaminated with hazardous substances.
EPA's funding to Mesa complements local
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
the impacts of climate change by providing a
world-class transit system.
www.epa.gov/region9/waste/ust
Green Job Training
To ensure that local residents benefit from the
jobs created by cleanups, EPA has two training
programs for green jobs. Both teach adults the
skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable
employment in the environmental field.
Last year more than 250 graduates in the
Pacific Southwest received environmental
cleanup certifications and technician skills
through funding from EPAs Environmental
Workforce Development and Job Training
program. This funding supports local job training
organizations serving low-income, minority,
unemployed and under-employed people living
in areas affected by hazardous waste.
In Rialto in Southern California, 17
local residents graduated from a Superfund
Job Training program in July 2014, preparing
them for jobs in cleanup projects like the
nearby Rockets, Fireworks and Flares Super-
fund site.
Focus on Tribes
Tribal governments face an array of challenges in
protecting public health and the environment on
their lands.
Settlement Brings $1 Billion to Navajo Cleanups
As a result of a historic legal settlement,
Kerr-McGee and its parent, Anadarko Petroleum
Corp., will pay more than $4.4 billion to fund
environmental cleanups across the country.
Among the biggest beneficiaries is the Navajo
Nation, where EPA plans to use $985 million
from the settlement to clean up about 50
abandoned uranium mines, where radioactive
waste remains from Cold War-era Kerr-McGee
mining operations.
The Navajo Nation will receive an additional
$43 million to address radioactive waste at the
former Kerr-McGee uranium mill in Shiprock,
N.M. EPA and the Navajo are now working on
their second five-year plan to address approxi-
mately 500 uranium mine sites on Navajo land.
Kerr-McGee mined more than seven million
tons of uranium ore on or near the Navajo Nation
from the late 1940s to the 1980s, leaving behind
mine sites and contaminated waste rock piles in
the Lukachukai Mountains of Arizona, the Eastern
Agency of the Navajo Nation, and nearby mines
in New Mexico.
Exposure to radioactive elements in soil, air
and water poses risks to human health, including
I lung cancer. EPA awarded an Environmental
Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving grant to
Tolani Lake Enterprises, a grassroots organization
working to assess exposures from water sources.
ivia
Ind
EPA, IHS Assist California Tribes in Drought
Many of California's 109 federally-recognized
Indian tribes rely on small drinking water systems
A recent settlement will provide $1 billion to clean up
50 abandoned uranium mines affecting the Navajo.
that are at risk of running dry during the state's
exceptional drought. One small system serving part
of the Yurok Tribe on California's North Coast
actually went dry in 2014, forcing the tribe to
deliver bottled water to customers.
In response to the drought, EPA and the
California Area Indian Health Service (IHS) have
been working collaboratively with California tribes,
encouraging each tribal government to assess their
vulnerability, plan for stretching supplies, and
identify alternative water sources.
IHS, in partnership with tribes and EPA,
identified 13 water systems run by 11 tribes as
being at highest risk, with estimated drought-
related project needs of $8.6 million. Seven of
these tribes made their own drought emergency
proclamations, including the Hoopa Valley,
Yurok, Tule River, Karuk, Sherwood Valley,
Cortina and Kashia Tribes.
EPA has provided funding to eight tribes to
develop drought contingency plans, water
conservation programs, water audits, leak
detection programs and community outreach.
Ultimately, EPA hopes to help tribes develop
resilient water systems and sustainable supplies
that will be durable in the face of future droughts
and other impacts of climate change.
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.^MauAJi
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CLIMATE &
COMMUNITIES
Greening Infrastructure
EPA applauds the work of local governments and businesses
that are managing their materials through innovative practices
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Communities Act Locally on Climate
As work continues to secure national and international
commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some
local governments in the Pacific Southwest have deployed
innovative technologies to green their own infrastructure,
creating examples for other municipalities.
San Jose, Calif., now boasts a facility that digests the city's
food waste to create biogas and compost, generate electric
power, and prevent emissions of methane, the potent
greenhouse gas generated when food goes into a landfill.
This is the nations first and the worlds largest commer-
cial, dry-fermentation anaerobic digestion facility, owned and
operated by Zero Waste Energy Development in partnership
with the City of San Jose. The city currently diverts about 74%
of its waste from landfills through reuse, recycling, compost-
ing, and anaerobic digestion. Its goal is zero waste by 2022.
At the facility, bacteria break down the food and
organic matter in 16 digesters, creating methane. The gas
is captured to fuel a combined heat and power plant,
generating electricity for adjacent recycling operations. The
facility can digest 90,000 tons of organic waste per year and
generate 1.6 megawatts, enough to sell excess power to the
grid. The solid residuals left after digestion are composted
onsite to create a valuable soil amendment.
The Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
(WWRA), started up a new facility in September that is
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Spotlight
50,000
cars and buses cross the San Ysidro
Port of Entry each day
soon expected to generate 100% of the regional
wastewater treatment plants power from
co-digesting sewage sludge and food waste.
The WWRA retrofitted a shuttered anaerobic
digester with new technology that increased the
amount of organic waste it can handle. The
resulting project is expected to replace 9 million
kwh of electricity annually equivalent to taking
more than 2,000 cars off the road - and keep 1,400
tons of waste from entering landfills each year.
Phoenix worked with the Arizona Super Bowl
Host Committee and the National Football League
to achieve a 73% waste diversion rate at this year's
Super Bowl festivities. Of that amount, 32% was
composted in a pilot food waste and composting
program part of a larger effort to bring curbside
collection of food and yard waste and a state-of-
the-art composting facility to Phoenix.
www.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/ad-sanjose
An air monitor measures participate air pollution in San
Ysidro, Calif., at the nation's busiest border port of entry.
Food Recovery Challenge and New Toolkit
Help Reduce Waste
EPAs Food Recovery Challenge and new Reducing
Wasted Food and Packaging Toolkit encourage
businesses and organizations to reduce food waste
and help feed people in need.
In the Pacific Southwest, challenge partici-
pants prevented 847 tons of wasted food, donated
more than 55,000 tons and diverted more than
61,000 tons for composting, anaerobic digestion
and biofuels production in 2013. The resulting
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was
equivalent to taking 10,000 cars off the road.
www.epa.gov/foodrecoverychallenge
www.epa.gov/region9/organics/foodtool
Support for Border Communities
Grants help reduce water pollution, recycle
e-waste, and monitor air quality in heavily-populated
border areas.
Local Residents Benefit in U.S., Mexico
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy traveled to San
Diego in October 2014 to announce more than
$8.6 million in grants for environmental improve-
ments along the U.S.Mexico border.
The EPA funds were awarded in partner-
ship with the North American Development
Bank (NADBank) and the Border Environ-
ment Cooperation Commission (BECC). The
grants included:
$5 million to the NADBank for drinking water
and wastewater projects to be selected by EPA
and the BECC
$3.5 million to the city of Holtville, Calif,
to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant,
reducing ammonia discharges to the Salton Sea
1 KARA BRUNDIN MILLER
Kara Brundin Miller, since 2001
the elected chair of the Smith
River Rancheria of the Tolowa
, Indian Tribe on California's
North Coast, recently served
on EPAs nationwide Local Government Advisory Com
mittee. Miller is also a small business owner and a
prominent member of the local farming community.
Drinking water and waste water systems on the
rancheria have improved dramatically during Millers
tenure as chair. Her tribal community has tackled
issues of sustainability and integrated water quality
planning to balance economic development and
protection of the wild salmon populations critical to
the tribe and the Smith River ecosystem.
$65,000 to the Sonoran Institute, based in
Tucson, Ariz., to clean and restore a segment of
the New River in Mexicali, and launch
community efforts to prevent illegal dumping
$49,180 to the California Department of
Public Health to assess environmental health
disparities, prioritize needs along the border,
and target future environmental health efforts
Four months later, Regional Administrator
Jared Blumenfeld unveiled a new air monitoring
station at the San Ysidro, Calif, border crossing.
On average, 50,000 cars and buses and 25,000
pedestrians a day cross at San Ysidro, the Western
Hemispheres busiest land port of entry. Air
pollution from vehicles affects communities on
both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The new air monitor, funded by a $110,000
EPA grant to the San Diego County Air Pollution
Control District, collects data on fine particles
(PMi.s) from engine emissions. Health studies
have shown a significant association between
exposure to fine particles and premature death
from heart or lung disease.
www.epa.gov/border2020
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Focus On Hawaii and Pacific Islands
Educational efforts in the Pacific complement core
environmental programs.
Recognizing Educators
Kokua Hawaii Foundation and founder/
executive director Kim Johnson were recognized
by EPA for the organization's work in schools to
encourage recycling and environmental steward-
ship. Their farm-to-school and plastic-free
initiatives teach students the value of taking
care of their health and the health of the
Hawaii environment.
The Plastic-Free Schools program provides
resources, tools and trainings to educate school
communities on the environmental and health
benefits of going plastic-free, to minimize plastic
pollution in Hawaii.
EPA also funded two fellowship grants to
two graduate students at the University of
Hawaii-Manoa for research on the effects of
water pollution and climate change on coral
reefs. Each will receive $84,000 for two years of
research. The projects are: 1) Investigating the
relationship between land-based sources of
pollution and coral reef ecosystem function; 2)
Acclimatization of Coral Populations to Local
and Global Stressors: Can Corals Adapt to
Future Threats?
Melanie Bias, a science teacher at Simon A.
Sanchez High School in Guam, received EPAs
Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental
Education. Seventeen teachers and 60 students
from across the nation were honored for promot-
ing environmental education and stewardship.
The teachers each received $2,500 to further their
professional training, and their schools each
received an additional $2,500 for environmental
education programs.
Green sea turtles haul out at Tern Island, an uninhabited islet in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Photo: Joe Spring
Supporting the Outer Pacific Islands
In September 2014, EPA and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service released an initial assessment of
contamination at Tern Island, a remote island in
the chain of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The
results show that there have been releases of toxics,
including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
lead, from military wastes buried on the island
between World War II and 1979, and that further
action is warranted.
The island, 564 miles northwest of Honolulu,
is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife
Refuge. It provides habitat for endangered monk
seals, sea turtles, and many species of seabirds.
EPA in 2014 awarded over $32 million to
Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI, which
includes Saipan), including $25 million to
improve drinking water and wastewater service.
The remaining $7 million funds local environ-
mental protection work including inspections,
monitoring the safety of beaches, and drinking
water, permit issuance, enforcement and other
environmental programs.
In 2013, Guam's recycling rate jumped to 32%,
from 18% as first reported in 2011 and 28% in
2012. In addition, Guam EPA opened its first
household hazardous waste drop-off facility. It's free
for island residents and designed to keep household
hazardous waste out of Guam's new landfill.
The CNMI Bureau of Environmental and
Coastal Quality issued a Climate Change
Vulnerability Assessment for Saipan, the first for
a U.S. insular area. In American Samoa, the
LEED Platinum-certified AS-EPA building,
funded in large part by U.S. EPA, became in
2014 one of fewer than two dozen buildings in
the world to be certified as "net zero" for energy.
AS-EPA's power bill went from more than
$60,000 per year to essentially zero.
www.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/tern-island
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s
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ENFORCEMENT
& STEWARDSHIP
A Range of Enforcement Tools
EPA uses targeted inspections and an array of enforcement
options to ensure compliance with federal environmental laws.
Working Together to Protect Communities
Enforcement is an essential part of EPA's mission an
important responsibility shared with state, local and tribal
partners. Together, robust enforcement programs enable us to
better protect our communities from degradation caused by
those who violate environmental laws.
At the federal level, EPA strives to ensure that communities
across the region receive the same degree of protection from
environmental violations. The agency can pursue violations
through civil enforcement, or in more egregious situations,
criminal enforcement.
EPA has authority to order facilities to comply with
environmental requirements. In some cases, those orders are
issued by the agency unilaterally, but more often are
negotiated. Depending on the nature and scope of the
violation, the agency may choose to assess a penalty as well.
EPA can exercise administrative authority which
allows the agency to issue orders and impose penalties
directly as well as judicial authority. For judicial cases,
EPA partners with the Department of Justice to file
actions in federal court.
In the end, successful enforcement of environmental
laws depends on strong state, local and tribal programs
together with focused, appropriate federal responses to
non-compliance.
Photo: California Department of Water Resources
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Spotlight
facilities inspected by EPA
in the Pacific Southwest
inFY14
Enforcement Cases Bring Results
EPA's 2014 enforcement results were led by a $4.4
billion national settlement with Kerr-McGee
Corp. and Anadarko Corp. that allocated more
than $2 billion for cleanups of abandoned uranium
mines on the Navajo Nation and a groundwater
cleanup to protect Lake Mead and the Colorado
River (see stories on pages 15 and 23).
An enforcement action against the East Bay
Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and seven
East Bay communities committed $1.5 billion to
eliminating sewage discharges into San Francisco
Bay. Another enforcement settlement prevents
pollution from a bayside scrap metal recycler (see
story on page 9).
A settlement with Costco, one of the nations
largest retailers, will cut its emissions of ozone-
depleting and greenhouse gas chemicals from
refrigeration equipment at 274 of its stores.
An EPA inspection of AllenCo, a small oil
production operation that generated complaints
AllenCo has been ordered to improve safety measures
at its oil facility in residential South Los Angeles.
in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles,
found violations of federal Clean Air, Clean
Water, and Community Right to Know laws.
The facility voluntarily shut down, entered into
a consent agreement to make improvements
before reopening, and paid a $99,000 penalty.
In San Pedro, EPA found violations of
risk management plan regulations at a propane
and butane storage facility, Rancho LPG, near a
residential area. To settle the enforcement action,
Rancho LPG invested more than $7 million in
new safety controls, tank inspections, seismic
upgrades, and improved coordination with
emergency responders, and paid a $260,000 penalty.
In Hawaii, EPA found that rental property
owner Destination Maui had failed to notify
tenants about lead-based paint in their units.
To settle the case, the firm is buying blood lead
analysis equipment for three health clinics and
funding the testing of 350 children. In
Northern California, EPA fined several small
construction companies for lack of required
certification as lead abatement contractors and
for violating lead dust rules.
Supporting Research and Innovation
EPA funds research and development by universities
and businesses with innovative ideas for less toxic,
healthier-to-use materials, fuels and products.
Grants, Recognition Fuel Advances
EPAs partnerships with educational institutions
and small businesses are a key to ensuring future
environmental progress.
Arizona State University received a $5 million
EPA research grant to investigate the impacts and
hazard potential of nanomaterials throughout their
life cycle. Nanomaterials are less than 100
i! . : :
Berkeley, Calif., scientist Dr.
1 Hong Jiao won a $300,000 EPA
Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) competitive
grant in 2014 to build a cheap,
portable water testing device to protect swimmers,
children and animals from toxic algae blooms In
fresh water.
Cyanotoxins from toxic algae can damage the
liver or nervous system. In early 2015, three dogs
died after swimming through toxic algae in Alameda
County's Lake Chabot
Dr. Jiao's company, HJ Science & Technology, is
using "lab-on-a-chip" technology for monitoring
cyanotoxins. The company is testing the device
at Pinto Lake (near Santa Cruz), which has been
plagued with toxic algae.
nanometers in size, too small to be seen with
conventional microscopes.
University of California at Santa Barbara
received a $4.9 million grant to develop an online
tool to evaluate life-cycle impacts of chemicals, to
better inform industry decision-makers about
chemical and product design.
U.C. Berkeley's Center for Green Chemistry
received $115,000 to develop a course on using
green chemistry techniques to solve real-world
business problems. Students will help five companies
reduce use of hazardous chemicals in their product
and processes, and U.C. will share the results.
Southern California companies receiving Small
Business Innovation Research grants for technol-
ogy development include Biopico Systems for a
portable testing system for water-borne pathogens,
CLEW for a cost-effective household wastewater
treatment and nutrient removal system, and
AquaNano for a high-capacity perchlorate filter for
drinking water treatment.
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Amyris in Emeryville and Solazyme in South
San Francisco won Presidential Green Chemistry
Awards for creating plant-based fuels and oils. The
Bay Area companies were among just five
organizations honored nationwide.
Amyris engineered a yeast to convert plant-
based sugars into a renewable fuel to replace diesel,
cutting 82% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Solazyme developed renewable oils from sugar and
engineered microalgae that significantly reduce
wastes, water and energy use compared to
petroleum- or existing plant-based oils in soaps,
detergents, food products and vehicle fuels.
Putting Safer Chemicals to Work
The Custodial Green Cleaning program was
developed by the San Francisco Department of the
Environment under a $74,500 EPA pollution
prevention grant. In 2014, EPA and the city
honored five companies that completed the pilot
program the nations first green business program
focused on janitorial cleaning reducing both
building occupants' and custodial workers'
exposure to harmful chemicals.
The goal is to prevent health problems such as
asthma and other respiratory illnesses, eye and skin
irritations and burns, and toxic exposure through
inhalation of fumes.
At the start of the program, SF Environment
found that one of the main barriers to use of safer
cleaning chemicals was lack of training. They
developed multi-lingual training videos and written
materials, now available online. More than 300
custodians have been trained, eliminating the use
of over 12,000 gallons of harmful cleaning
chemicals each year.
www.epa.gov/greenchemistry
www.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/greencleaning
Focus on Nevada
Years of enforcement work by EPA and the
Department of Justice will help clean up chemical
sites and polluted groundwater in Henderson, Nev.
$1.1 Billion for Henderson Perchlorate Cleanup
The settlement of a nationwide enforcement case
with Kerr-McGee Corp. and Anadarko Corp. has
secured $1.1 billion to clean up a former
Kerr-McGee chemical manufacturing site that
has been contaminating Lake Mead with
perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel.
The Kerr-McGee site in Henderson, Nev,
near Las Vegas, has the nation's largest plume
of groundwater contaminated with perchlorate.
The contaminated groundwater flows into
Lake Mead, a drinking water source for 15
million people in Nevada, Arizona and
Southern California.
The Nevada Division of Environmental
Protection began the cleanup several years ago
and has removed more than 4,000 tons of
perchlorate from the soil and groundwater.
Perchlorate can interfere with the production
of thyroid hormones, which are needed for
prenatal and postnatal growth and develop-
ment, as well as for normal metabolism and
mental function in adults.
The settlement, which covers Kerr-McGee
sites in 47 states, sets aside $4.4 billion for
environmental cleanup, including $985 million
for uranium mining sites on and around the
Navajo Nation (see story on page 15).
Parts Manufacturer to Clean Up PCBs
In April 2014, Titanium Metals Corporation,
also known as TIMET, agreed to pay a record
$13.75 million civil penalty and perform an
A lined pond at the Tronox facility in Henderson, Nev.,
still contains residual perchlorate from the pond's
former use in the manufacturing process.
extensive investigation and cleanup of potential
contamination stemming from unauthorized
manufacture and disposal of toxic PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyls) in Henderson, Nev.
The penalty was the largest ever imposed for
violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA) at a single facility. EPA inspections
revealed that TIMET had been unlawfully
manufacturing PCBs as a by-product, without
an exclusion from TSCA's ban.
EPA expects the settlement to result in the
removal of 84,000 pounds of PCB-contaminated
waste from the environment and prevent the
improper disposal of 56 million pounds of
hazardous waste each year.
This settlement was part of EPA's nation-
wide enforcement initiative to reduce pollution
from mining and mineral processing, which
can generate large volumes of toxic and
hazardous waste.
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EPA Funding for FY2014 for the Pacific Southwest Region
Contracts
11%
$67.6
Other
$4
CNMI American
$9 Samoa
Guam
Payroll and
Support
18% ~
$113.8
Regional Operating Budget
(in millions)
Geographic Distribution
of Grant Awards
(in millions)
Nevada
$36
About 82% of the $618 million operating
budget appropriated by Congress for EPA's
Pacific Southwest Region flows to state and
tribal agencies, local governments, nonprofit
organizations and private-sector companies in
the form of grants and contracts.
This funding pays for drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure, clean air programs,
Superfund site cleanups, rehabilitation of
contaminated lands, and many other activities
supporting communities and public health.
For more information on grants, visit
www.epa.gov/ogd.
Regional Funding by Strategic Goal
All told, more than half of regional funding is applied toward the goal of Protecting
America's Waters. Most of the $341 million in grants awarded under this goal goes to
the State Revolving Fund, which supports drinking water and wastewater infrastruc-
ture as well as nonpoint source pollution and estuary protection programs.
400-'
350-
ImprovingAir Protecting
Quality/ America's
Climate Waters
Change
Cleaning
Up Com-
munities/
Advancing
Sustainable
Development
Ensuring Enforcing
Safety of Environment-
Chemicals al Laws
and Prevent-
ing Pollution
Distribution of Grant Funding
The majority of EPA's grant funding goes to state and tribal agencies
for environmental work. (In the Pacific islands, all of EPA's financial
support goes to government agencies.) The charts show who receives
funding in each of four major geographic areas.
California
(S288 million)
Arizona
($56 million)
Nevada
($36 million)
Hawaii
($20 million)
KEY
State Agencies &
Special Districts
I Tribes
| Local Government
Universities
Nonprofits
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency I Pacific Southwest/Region 9 Contacts
Offices
EPA Pacific Southwest Region
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.947.8000
EPA Pacific Islands Contact Office
300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 5-152
Honolulu, HI 96850
808.541.2710
EPA San Diego Bonier Office
610 West Ash St., Suite 905
San Diego, CA92101
619.235.4765
EPA Southern California Field Office
600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1460
Los Angeles, CA90017
213.244.1800
Phone Inquiries
415.947.8000
or 866.EPAWEST
(toll-free)
Email Inquiries
r9.info@epa.gov
EPA Website
wwwr.epa.gov
For Pacific Southwest Issues
www.epa.gov/region9
To Obtain This Report
Order from EPAs Environmental
Information Center at
866.EPA.WEST (toll-free), email
r9.info@epa.gov or view in English
and Spanish on the Web at
www.epa.gov/region9/annualreport
Want to stay informed?
Keep up with EPA's work in the Pacific Southwest and other environmental stories by
subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter at www.epa.gov/region9/newrsletter
Mention of individuals, organizations or companies in this report is not intended to imply endorsement by EPA or the U.S. Government.
&EPA
Printed on 100% recycled paper, 100% post-
consumer contentprocess chlorine-free
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE;
2015-571-183
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©EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pacific Southwest/Region 9
EPA-909-R-15-001
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